Modeling and simulation of transient responses of a flexible beam floating in finite depth water under moving loads

The dynamic response of a free–free flexible beam floating in an unbounded water domain under the effect of moving loads is numerically analyzed. The water is assumed compressible and inviscid. The surface disturbance satisfies a linear free surface wave condition and an undisturbed condition at infinity. In the present work, a finite element procedure was developed directly in time domain and implemented to solve the two-dimensional problem of the transient behavior of an elastic beam floating on the surface of finite deep water under the passage of a moving force with uniform speed. The presented data demonstrates the applicability of the proposed mathematical model and numerical approach. The influences on the dynamic responses of floating beam of some factors were studied.